Bee Deaths Put Crops at Risk

Mounting Toll on Pollinating Insects Imperils Over $20 Billion a Year in Harvests

By

Bill Tomson and

Ryan Tracy

Updated May 7, 2013 6:22 p.m. ET

The winter of 2012-13 was another rough one for honeybees, threatening an industry that is integral to a large part of fruit and vegetable production in the U.S.

A study released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the number of honeybee colonies declined 31% last winter, by about 800,000 colonies, the latest reported toll of the mass die-offs with multiple causes that have been plaguing the U.S. for several years....